Can you believe there is less than one week until Christmas? The past few months have gone by so quickly. Wow! We have been busy lately, I have a little bit of time to update everyone on all the fun things we have been doing! November started off with our 6th Anniversary, that morning The Children of the World International Children’s Choir came to perform a concert at our church! Hannah absolutely loved watching the kids dance around the stage and sing! It was great for Matt and I to get to hear the kids again, they came to Cedarville while we were there and we really enjoyed them then! That was quickly followed by Hannah’s 3rd birthday! Mom and Dad threw Hannah a great party complete with a Thomas the Train cake!! My cousins, Monica and Victoria, were able to join us for the day, which was a surprise because we haven’t seen them in a few years, and Aunt Laura flew in to celebrate too! It was a great weekend! The night before her party, Matt and I went with my Grandma Reel and Aunt Laura to CBT to see Julie Hufstetler in concert! (She is an up and coming Christian artist and she just released her 2nd album… she is actually married to my Dad’s cousin!) That was a great night… after the concert, Matt and I were finally able to use one of our gift cards from our Birthdays and went out for a late dinner and dessert (Thanks Britt and Manny!!)!! It was great to be able to go out with Matt again, it has been a long time since we have been able to go on a date! Saturday, we had an all day bash for Hannah; we filled the family room with balloons! She had a great time and she still talks of all the fun she had that day!!
Thursday after Hannah’s birthday party, Matt surprised me by coming home early from a bookfair, and told me to pack an overnight bag… we were going away!! I was in complete shock, and instantly started to wonder what we were going to do with kids, and what I had to do to be able to pack and get everything ready for me and the kids in just two hours! Apparently, Matt had involved everyone in the process and they all knew about it! Mom planned to take a personal day from school on Friday to be with the kids, Jimmy and Dad worked out the bookfair duties, and Brittannie put us up for the night in Columbus! We headed out around 3 o’clock, I did not know where we were going, just realized we were heading south! We ended up in Britt’s neighborhood and went to her apartment to change into our dress clothes! We then headed into Columbus and I didn’t know what we would be doing until we turned the corner and I saw a marquis for Harry Connick Jr.!! It was a great surprise! In the month that Matt was planning it, somehow, he managed to keep it a secret, and I had absolutely no idea! It was awesome! We enjoyed the Christmas/N’Orleans style concert and then we went out for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory! We had revisited a date night we had in college! What a great time! Thank You, Honey!!! The next morning, we were able to sleep in! Had Panera for breakfast, visited Britt at work, and leisurely headed home! It was so fun! I enjoyed spending time with Matt!!
Later that evening, we went to Camp Chof to celebrate our dear friend, Dave’s 50th Birthday! It was so nice to visit with some of our friends we haven’t seen in a long time!
Thanksgiving was a nice quiet weekend at home, Grandma and Grandpa Hall came over with Caleb and Zachary… we missed Aunt Lori who became sick that morning. Saturday we met up with some of Matt’s friends who live/lived in New Hampshire! It was a lovely lunch, and a good time for them to remember things of the past and learn about the new things in each other’s lives! We all really enjoyed the time together!
Saturday, December 6th was a very busy day too!! The girls headed out in the morning to Grandma Reel’s Sorority Luncheon, which has been a tradition for so many years! I have missed it for the last 6 years, so it was great to be involved again! It was a lovely morning, Thank You, Grandpa!! We quickly headed home afterward to pick up the rest of the crew and head up to The Chapel in Akron for their Christmas concert, The Advent! It was amazing! Jimmy treated for the tickets, and it is becoming a tradition for him to share this special event with our family! I have never seen such an amazing concert, it was lovely! There were so many different styles of music combined in one program! Amazing!! The kids loved it, they were so intrigued with the use of light on massive aluminum decorations…weird concept, awesome results!! We ended the evening with dinner at Macaroni Grill! We had a great weekend, Britt and Manny were home for all the festivities, and we had such a great time! I am glad they are able to come up and visit so often!!
This past Saturday, Dad performed in the Christmas concert at CBT! So, Mom, Matt, the kids and I went over there to see him dressed as a Magi!! It was a nice concert and the kids enjoyed the music again!
Tuesday night was wing night at Winking Lizard! We met the guys there after their bookfairs. They had a surprise there that night! Santa and Mrs. Claus were there and they were taking pictures and printing them out! So, even though I wasn’t planning to take the kids to have their picture on Santa’s lap, we got one anyway! That was fun, Hannah warmed up to them about half way through our wait for a table! We were driving in the car the next day, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town came on the radio… after it was over, Hannah said, “But Santa is at Winking Lizard!” I got a good kick out of that!
Matt has been so busy doing bookfairs. One more on Monday, then the season is over! Hopefully, he will be able to find permanent work for after the first of the year! The kids are doing well!! Mason has 7 teeth now, and is pulling up on everything and taking steps while he holds on!! We took him to get his first haircut last week! It is amazing how much it changed the way he looks! I didn’t realize how much his hair was covering his eyes! He looks like a little man now! He is growing up so fast! It is unbelievable! Hannah is learning so much every day! We have been teaching her that Jesus birth is the true meaning of Christmas and that it is so much better to give than to receive! We hope that she will take all these lessons to heart and make them a very special part of her life! I have been busy decorating the house! I put 3 trees up, one in Hannah’s room! We made all kinds of paper ornaments for her tree, she colored all of them and then she hung them all up by herself! It has been a fun project for her! She is enjoying all the Christmas music, and loves to point out all of the decorations and lights that people have in their yards! She gets so excited! Sunday is the Christmas concert at our church, so we look forward to that, and then Christmas is here already! It is amazing how quickly it has come! I am especially looking forward to spending time with Steven and Ashley! Safe travel, you guys! It has been 2 years since we have seen them, and they have a nephew to meet for the first time! We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! We will be moving the computer out of Mason’s room over the break, so that should allow us to update a bit more often! Until next time, which will probably be next year!
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
